Prizm skimmer vs counter current skimmer

[Creetin]

hi all, i am currently using the counter current skimmer and it works ok but no thick gunk yet just brownish water. I am thinking of switchin to the prizm as it will save some space for me. however i heard from an experienced reefer who said that due to my small tank size (38g), a prizm would be overkill as it would suck out the nutrients as well. can anyone confirm this?

Tks!

[Achilles Tang]

due to my small tank size (38g), a prizm would be overkill as it would suck out the nutrients as well.

That should be the last of your worries.... nutrients especially! You want to have nutrient-light water unless you want to keep lagoonal type of corals like gornios, gorgonians, elegance... but you may also invite conditions for nuisance algae to grow.

I think what you are confused about is the removal of planktonic life in your tank... but with the limited enclosed ecosystem we keep, that is something we are not able to replicate entirely anyway... unless you don't mind looking at greenwater tanks.

Feeding live phytoplankton may restore/encourage planktonic life as they found the bottom of the food chain for zooplankton and such.